[Vision2020] Web Database of Molesters Becomes Law

[Tom Hansen]

>From CNN.com -

Note to Unpastor Doug Wilson:  Here is an article you can take to "Show and
Tell" next time you visit Steven Sitler.

"The law . . . increases minimum sentences for molesters who travel between
states."

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Web database of molesters becomes law

WASHINGTON (AP) -- President Bush, joined by "America's Most Wanted" host
John Walsh, signed a new law Thursday that requires convicted child
molesters to be listed on a national Internet database and face a felony
charge for failing to update their whereabouts.

"Our nation grieves with every family that's suffered the unbearable pain of
a child who's been abducted or abused," Bush said in a bill-signing ceremony
in the Rose Garden. "This law takes an important step forward in this
country's efforts to protect those who cannot protect themselves."

The measure was named for Walsh's 6-year-old son, Adam, who was abducted
exactly 25 years ago Thursday, and subsequently murdered.

It aims to help police find more than 100,000 sex offenders by creating the
first national online listing available to the public and searchable by ZIP
code. It also called for harsh federal punishment for sexually assaulting
children, including the possibility of the death penalty when a victim is
murdered.

"Today is truly a family day for us," Walsh's wife, Reve, told reporters
outside the West Wing after the event. "Adam's presence is felt here with us
today. This is all about children. It tells children in our country that
they are precious and are cared about -- even though they don't have any
money, or vote or lobby -- that we will take care of them."

Bush said the new law will help prevent child abuse by creating the national
child abuse registry, and requiring investigators to do background checks on
adoptive and foster parents before they are approved to take custody of a
child. Giving child protective services professionals in all 50 states
access to this information will improve their ability to investigate child
abuse cases, he said.

"These improvements will help prevent sex offenders from evading detection
by moving from one state to the next," Bush said.

Child advocates have called the bill the most sweeping sex offender
legislation to target pedophiles in years. It would:

    * Establish a comprehensive federal DNA database of material collected
from convicted molesters, and procedures for the routine DNA collection and
comparison to the database when someone has been convicted of such an
offense.

    * Provide federal funding for states to track pedophiles using global
positioning devices.

    * Allow victims of child abuse to sue their molesters.

      The law imposes a mandatory minimum sentence of 30 years for raping a
child; a mandatory 10-year penalty for sex trafficking offenses involving
children and for coercing child prostitution; and increases minimum
sentences for molesters who travel between states.

      Sen. John Kerry, D-Massachusetts, said the measure the president
signed into law closes loopholes in current child Internet pornography laws.
Kerry and co-sponsor Sen. Johnny Isakson, R-Georgia, pushed to include what
they dubbed "Masha's Law" into the legislation Bush signed.

      Now 13, Masha Allen was adopted from a Russian orphanage at age 5 by a
man who sexually abused her. Her abuser was convicted, yet her images on the
Internet are being downloaded around the world.

      "It's an absolute outrage that the penalty for downloading songs
illegally off the Internet was three times the penalty for downloading
disgusting images of children," Kerry said. "We need to do everything we can
to end the disgrace of child pornography. This is a start."

      The new law dramatically increases penalties for anyone who downloads
child pornography off the Internet, raising the civil penalties from $50,000
to $150,000. It will also change existing law to allow victims ages 18 or
older to recover damages from those who downloaded images of them taken
while they were children.

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One question:  How soon can we anticipate entering Moscow's two latest
pedophiles (Wight and Sitler) onto this database?

Seeya round town, Moscow.

Tom Hansen
Moscow, Idaho

"Uh, how about a 1-strike law. Death doesn't seem too extreme for a Level-3
sex offender."

- Dale "Comb-Over" Courtney (August 3, 2005)